Determination of Aflatoxin Levels in Maize Grain by High Performance Liquid Chromatography Using an Immunoaffinity Column Cleanup

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine aflatoxin contamination levels in maize grain produced in Samsun Province, Turkey. Forty samples of maize grain intended for animal feed in Samsun Province were analyzed. The amounts of the aflatoxins, B-1, B-2, G(1) and G(2), were quantified with a liquid chromatography (HPLC-FLD) and post-column derivatization. Recoveries ranged between 89 and 98%. The detection limits were 0.007 and 0.02 ng/g and the corresponding quantification limits were 0.022 and 0.063 ng/g. As a result, it has been shown that the accurate and sensitive HPLC-FLD method was confirmed as being appropriate for the detection of AFs in maize grain, besides, the incidence of aflatoxins in maize was very low (2.5%).